


Be Mindful of the Butterflies

by Seaglassandstars



Category: Miraculous Ladybug, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: 1 Year of Miraculous, Gen, Ladybug watches SU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-08-12 11:37:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7933123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seaglassandstars/pseuds/Seaglassandstars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ladybug has a little bit of down time and decides to try something out of an episode of Steven Universe. But she should have know better than to trust cartoons, even ones with catchy songs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Be Mindful of the Butterflies

**Author's Note:**

> Happy 1 year anniversary, ML!  
> It was inspired by the countless crossover ideas for Steven Universe and Miraculous Ladybug on tumblr- especially the ones seeing the resemblance between the white butterflies. Also, I wrote this on a whim instead of doing homework.  
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

It had started with an American cartoon, Steven Universe. Of course, she should have known better than to trust something she saw on television.  
The most recent episode, Mindful Education, had a cute song in it that she had been humming to herself the whole way to her and Chat's meeting spot for the day, one of the Seine's bridges.  
She was early, so she sat down on the railing to wait. She watched the sun set over the buildings, then turned to watch the city. After a moment, she adjusted so her legs were folded under her, cupped her hands together in her lap, and closed her eyes just like the characters in the episode did.  
She breathed deeply, the sounds and lights of the city fading to the background. She opened her eyes again, finding herself in the blue-toned room from the show. Ladybug saw something in the corner of her eye, and she turned to see… herself?  
Not Ladybug her, Marinette her. Walking with a backpack on and textbook clutched to her chest, this fake-Marinette stopped short as a white butterfly fluttered towards her. Her face blanched and she backed up slowly, covering her head with her arms.  
Ladybug jumped up, prepared to rush to her own aid. Before she could move her foot, though, a soft voice began singing. It felt familiar but she couldn't place it.

"Here comes a thought  
That might alarm you  
What someone said  
how it harmed you  
Something you did  
That failed to be charming  
Thing that you said are  
Suddenly swarming"

From the backpack came a countless number of those butterflies. At closer inspection, Ladybug saw that they each played a memory of Marinette's- and not a happy one. Watching the swarm of white, she was really, really starting to regret trying something out of a cartoon. They all condensed into one giant butterfly, playing memory after memory.

"And, oh, you're losing sight, you're losing touch  
All these little things seem to matter so much  
That they confuse you  
That I might lose you  
Take a moment, remind yourself to  
Take a moment and find yourself  
Take a moment to ask yourself if  
This is how we fall apart  
But it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not  
It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay"

Fake-Marinette crouched down, trying to make herself small and hide from the white pest above her. Ladybug found herself powerless to do more than watch in a mix of awe and despair. They're not real, they're not real, she tried telling herself. It didn't work. She tried squeezing her eyes shut tightly and opening them again, hoping to see the blue water of the Siene below her and not the blue of that place. It didn't work.  
From behind Ladybug, people appeared out of nowhere and ran past her; they started the butterfly, which exploded into the smaller ones that made it up and fluttered away. Once they were gone, Ladybug could make out who the rescuers were. It was Alya, Nino, and Adrien. Both her and the Marinette smiled. Marinette walked away with her friends and disappeared.  
She relaxed, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She turned her head to the right and saw Chat next to her. Before she could say anything to him, the yo-yo on her hip vibrated and she grabbed it. It opened, releasing a single butterfly which zipped around her and Chat Noir. She followed it, smacking it with the end of her yo-yo.

"Here comes a thought  
That might alarm me  
What someone said  
And how it harmed me  
Something I did  
That failed to be charming  
Things that I said are  
Suddenly swarming  
And, oh, I'm losing sight, I'm losing touch  
All these little things seem to matter so much  
That they confuse me  
That I might lose me"

She saw the stress of keeping her secret identity and the guilt of the akumas she almost couldn’t beat. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she continued whacked the butterfly.  
When she wasn’t watching, more of the white things appeared, circling around Chat this time.  
“Uh, Ladybug?” he called out. She didn’t seem to hear him. A great cloud of white swirled above him, like his own personal tornado. In those butterflies, he saw and felt the loss of his mother, the pressures of his life, and the stress of his secret identity all at once. It was crushing him and he couldn’t do anything but watch.  
Eventually, Ladybug took a deep breath and turned back to Chat. Her face fell when she found him kneeling, watching a tornado of butterflies with tear-filled, terrified eyes. She ran to him, startling the butterflies away. At that moment, she decided that she was never watching Steven Universe again.

"Take a moment, remind yourself to  
Take a moment and find yourself  
Take a moment and ask yourself if  
This is how we fall apart  
But it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not  
It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay  
I've got nothing, got nothing, got nothing, got nothing to fear  
I'm here, I'm here, I'm here"

Ladybug ran to him, shooing the butterflies away. She pulled Chat Noir to his feet, and he looked away, closing his eyes tightly. She cupped his face in her hands to make his look at her and used her thumbs to brush away his tears. He pulled her into a hug and rested his head on her shoulder.  
His shoulders shook with sobs and tears of her own ran down her face. Eventually, he pulled away, this time brushing her tears away. Despite the copious amount of tears, she felt better, lighter than she did before coming to that place.  
\---

"LB?"  
"Gah!" Ladybug screamed, opening her eyes and flailing. She lurched forward, but a magical-black-suit-covered-hand grabbed and steadied her before she could fall into the river below.  
"Woah! Sorry! Are you okay?" he asked, eyes full of concern.  
"Yeah... yeah," she replied, forcing a smile and dusting herself off.  
"Are you sure?" he said, grabbing her shoulders and turning her towards him.  
"Yes, chaton, I'm fine," she said, this time with a genuine smile.  
"Okay. You're going to have to teach me whatever you were doing. You looked so peaceful!"  
"Hah! Yeah, no thanks,” Ladybug said and threw her yo-yo to a nearby building. Once it caught on the chimney, she looked back at her partner. “You coming, Chat?”

**Author's Note:**

> I might do a part 2 focusing more on Adrien if this one goes over well.
> 
>  
> 
> (Edit- Changed it to have Chat take Sapphire's role and Marinette take Connie's. Thanks to ShinyWaffles for the suggestion!)


End file.
